Stress Is Stress

On a weekend day, probably a Saturday, almost ten years ago, we were out and about on a hike with four or five other couples who likewise had brought their toddler-age children. I do not remember much of the outing, except for bits and pieces of a conversation with another dad, who I had just met that day, minutes before the beginning of our walk. It had been a very busy week at work. I was relieved to be walking, out in nature and away from the desk. Again, I don’t remember the details, but I did share some of the busyness of the previous days, to which he responded along the lines of “wow – that’s a lot! Stressful!” “Yes! That’s right, it was!” We walked on a bit – and then I asked “so, how about yourself? What do you do; what was your week like?” “I’m a medical doctor and I work in the oncology ICU.” “Oh, wow. Well, I got nothing. Your days sound way more stressful than mine. “Eh. Stress is stress” We continued on, talked about our respective schedule complexities, challenges of…